Pretty pretty pretty at Tessuti

Primrose singlet by Ingrid Starnes

I have a new guilty pleasure: Tessuti in Herne Bay.


I say guilty because I spent the money I was saving for a sensible pair of new running shoes on something much more delicate and, shall we say...wanton. The exact details will remain a mystery so that I can slide said new purchase into my wardrobe on the quiet (and hopefully escape the wrath of my beloved).


Tessuti never fails to woo me with something unashamedly girly and gorgeous. Today I may have found at least part of my summer wedding wardrobe, in the form of the beautiful Primrose singlet (above) by Ingrid Starnes. It comes in cream and 'ink' (navy) and is the prettiest top I have seen in ages. I also fell in love with a ring by kiwi jeweler Charlotte Penman, stay tuned for tomorrow's post.


Regardless of whether I have money to spend, browsing there always leaves me inspired and plotting how to make my own home look more 'Tessuti-like'.


How about you, lovely readers? Where do you go for guaranteed girly inspiration? 


x

Embrace the lace trend

Image courtesy of CND nails

If you're like me and love the idea of lace but not the reality (I somehow look like a giant granny-kerchief no matter HOW expensive or chic the design) here's a way to embrace the trend without looking like a doily disaster.

This beautiful nail extension was created for the Joy Cioci show by CND nails (I promise I don't have shares in CND, I'm just loving all their Fashion Week coverage). You could easily recreate it at home by first painting your nails with base coat and laying a (carefully shaped) piece of fine lace over the nail and finishing with top coat, but if you want the exact look below are the professional instructions. Print this page off and take it to your local CND nail salon.


1. Sculpt clear tips with crystal clear Retention+ Liquid and Powder

2. Lay a piece of fine weaved lace over the nail

3. Apply a light layer of Shellac in Cream Puff, creating a random, deconstructed lacey pattern.

4. Cure and seal.


Email me photos when you do!

x

The one essential for beautiful skin

Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci

On Thursday I had the pleasure of an in-depth skin consultation with Linda Jackson of the Face Place in Albany, for an article I am researching on Cosmeceuticals (if you're wondering what I mean by cosmeceutical here is a great article written by Milly Nolan of Mindfood.com). I had dozens of similar experiences in my 10 years of beauty marketing so I usually leave feeling a little hohum.


With Linda, I had not one but two lightbulb moments. First of all, I asked her what the most important thing is to use on your skin (assuming she would say 'moisturiser'). Her response was 'vitamin A because it is essential to the nucleus of every skin cell. If you don't do anything else to your skin, at least use vitamin A in some form, but get professional advice first to avoid reactions.'  Vitamin C and other antioxidants came in second and third, followed by moisturiser (she even said it is better to be slightly under-hydrated than under-treated with vitamin A) and last of all, cleansing. Apparently, we all cleanse far too often and should only do it once a day at most, in the evening, to remove makeup and the grime of the day. That's it.


The second 'ding' was that she talked about my home care routine for 50 out of the 60 minutes of our appointment, only mentioning her treatment recommendations at the very end. When I commented on this, she was quick to emphasise that home care is 70% of beautiful skin, and if clients aren't prepared to invest in that, there is little point prescribing a lengthy and potentially pricey treatment plan. It was refreshing to hear such an unapologetic (and logical!) approach to home care, which is so often an afterthought at beauty salons.


How about you, beaunz belles? Have you used vitamin A on your skin? Did you notice a difference?


x

They call me caramello...

Salted Caramel Cupcake from Petal Bakery

It's official: I have found my food nirvana and it goes like this... 


Light as air vanilla cupcake smothered in salty-sweet caramel buttercream that sticks to the roof of your mouth in an eyes-roll-back-in-your-head-pornographic kind of way. It might look too pretty to eat, but this is not a cake to admire from a distance; especially as it only makes an appearance on special occasions. Lucky for me, such a happening coincided with my latest visit to MRKT and it was love at first bite.


If you want to know when you can next get your hands on one of these babies, 'like' Petal on facebook and get ready to run. See you in line...


x

Sunday Sounds: Big Deal

Boy / girl vocal duo Big Deal have snuck inside my head with this catchy little number, Chair, from their debut album 'Lights Out'. 

Written by Alice Costelloe when she couldn't sleep one hot summer night, it has the raw, sweet charisma of a high school band and I have put it straight into my iPod favourites for the summer.

What do you think lovely readers?

x

It just looks like good skin

Lately I have been complimented on my skin and its 'healthy glow'. At first I was perplexed because as you will know from Sunday's post I have been suffering the ill-effects of sleepless nights for over a week now and am most certainly not emanating anything healthy. As I put on my face this morning, it dawned on me that it's not my skin at all, it's this understated little highlighter I've been using from Lancôme.

When I bought it 6 months ago I almost instantly forgot about it, which is very unlike me as I usually embrace new makeup products with the excitement of Christmas morning. It wasn't until I was looking for something to replace my Bobbi Brown shimmer brick, which had shattered and crumbled in the hands of my toddler (who consequently glistened like a Christmas decoration for days) that I rediscovered Eclat Miracle.

To the naked eye, it has none of that greigey opalescent sheen you often get from highlighters, instead it just disappears into your skin and somehow glows like a lightbulb. I only use a tiny dot, warmed between my fingers and then dabbed around my eye socket, across the bridge of my nose and above my cupids bow. 


I can't remember how much I paid for it, but at this rate my cost per use must be mere cents and it's so lovely to have a product that doesn't look like a product, it just looks like good skin.

How about you, Beaunz belles? What are your secret miracle products?

x

The prettiest nails at fashion week

Image courtesy of CND 

I'm a beauty junkie, so technically I should be all over the current obsession for nails in every colour of the rainbow, and for awhile I was. I'm still looking forward to donning Bus Stop Crimson on my toes, and will be sporting crayola yellow nails for at least one summer wedding, but I have otherwise reached (colour) saturation point.

I blame my day job: scrolling through image after image of the various fashion weeks for a forthcoming nail feature left me craving a palette cleanser. When this image popped into my inbox from CND nails (taken back stage at Alexandre Herchovitch) it was the refreshing visual sorbet I needed. The 'Sugar Babe' manicure was created by first coating the nails with Air Dry Top Coat then sprinkling fine white sparkle on top and sealing with Brisa Gloss.

I haven't worn glitter on my nails since college, but this is just subtle enough to work for office and outings.

And how pretty is her eye shadow? If anyone can tell me how to recreate it I will love you dearly forever and ever.

x